Defense Style of Children and Adolescents: Differences and Ability to Discriminate Among Clinical Categories

This study assessed the defense style of children referred to an outpatient clinic and examined what this style contributes to discriminating among various disorder categories, beyond internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A sample of 433 children and adolescents were grouped into four disorder categories: disruptive, depressive, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Their parents completed the Comprehensive Assessment of Defense Style (CADS: mature, self-oriented, and other-oriented) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL: internalizing and externalizing symptoms). The disorder categories differed in the use of other-oriented defenses (e.g., acting-out, projection), whereas the CADS helped in properly discriminating most diagnostic categories beyond the CBCL. Information provided by the children themselves was missing, as was a subsample of nonclinical participants; these sources could strengthen the conclusions of the study. Assessing children's defense style together with their symptoms may result in better statistical discrimination among diagnostic categories.